Not sure where to find the videos, but the old footage of him climbing is amazing, too.

In this vid he mentions climbing harder than before he lost his legs. One of the things that made that happen was when he switched his prosthetic feet for vertical wedges. Just imagine if your feet were the right shape to fit in vertical splitter cracks and your toes never hurt.

Not sure where to find the videos, but the old footage of him climbing is amazing, too.

In this vid he mentions climbing harder than before he lost his legs. One of the things that made that happen was when he switched his prosthetic feet for vertical wedges. Just imagine if your feet were the right shape to fit in vertical splitter cracks and your toes never hurt.

Makes me wish I could try them out.

Not speaking for any amputee in specific here, but honestly, I can't imagine if I had lost a limb, feeling like the trade off a perfect wedged foot for splitter cracks quite worth it...

Not speaking for any amputee in specific here, but honestly, I can't imagine if I had lost a limb, feeling like the trade off a perfect wedged foot for splitter cracks quite worth it...

You're looking at it as an either/or question from the perspective of someone who has not lost a limb. Once a limb is lost however, that trade-off no longer exists. Your attitude would likely be different.

Hugh has repeatedly said, when asked if he would want his biologic limbs back, absolutely not. He honestly believes that at some point in the relatively near future, we will decide when it is appropriate to voluntarily amputate our limbs to replace them with something better. Pay particular attention to his remarks starting at the 7:30 time mark in the video below.

I'm not saying I would trade my legs for them, but if he has come to the point where he prefers his artificial limbs (as he claims in the clip) I have to think they offer advantages that will increase as the technology improves. With all the amputees coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan the prosthetics tech is developing faster than ever before.

If you are interested, there is a book written about him call "Second Ascend". Very interesting read. Being a climber coupling with the accident is what led him to be the world's expert on prosthetic limbs.